Adjustable stove-grate



(No Model.)

H. W. BODEMAN.

' ADJUSTABLE STOVE GRATE.

No- 417,208. Patented Dec. 10 1889.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY W. )ODEMAN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

ADJ USTABLE STOVE-G RATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 417,208, dated December 10, 1889.

Application filed February 11, 1889. Serial No. 299,492. (No model.)

To all 2071 0172, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY W. BODEMAN, of the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Adjustable StoveGrates; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to a novel mechanism for raising and depressing stove-grates, so that the size of the fuel-space in the stove may be decreased or increased at will.

It consists of amechanism which will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of my device. Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan of a stove with my device in position and showing a frame D of modified form.

The object of my invention is to raise and lower the grate for the purpose of decreasing or increasing the fuel-space by means of a pair of compensating levers, which are pivoted together at some point in their length, one of these levers having a fixed fulcrum, about which it turns, the other a movable or hanging fulcrum, which is thus allowed to change to accommodate itself to the .move-' ment of the lever which turns about the fixed fulcrum. This device may be applied to old or new grates by slight unessential changes in some of the minor details of construction.

I will first describe the application where the device is to be placed in a new grate or stove, where the parts can be manufactured to fit each other.

A and B are two lever-arms crossing each other and pivoted together at their point of crossing a, so that both may turn about its pivot. Thelever A has its lower end permancntly fulcrumed to the frame D Within the stove by a pin E, so that when the outer end of this lever is raised or depressed it moves about this permanent fulcrum. The lever B has a corresponding lower end bent down ward in a curve, as shown, and this downwardly-projecting end is connected at I to the lower endof the link G, which has its upper end attached to the frame D. The link may be loosely pivoted to the lever and frame, or it may be cast or fixed rigidly to the lever, with a connecting'pin at this point for the rod I, which hooks over the pin and extends to the nut. If made in this Way, a horizontal slot 7) is made in the frame, in which the connecting-pin travels When the levers are moved. By this construction it will be seen that when the lower end of the lever B is moved to the right the point where it'unites with the lever A will be moved to the right and at the same time raised, thus raising the outer ends of both these levers. The gratell is supported upon the upper ends of these two levers A and I3, as will be hereinafter more fully described, and it will be raised and depressed by themovements of these levers.

In order to produce the movement of the lever B, previously described, it' has a rod 1, connecting its lower end with a nut J, which is fitted to travel upon a screw K. This screw enters through a hole in the side of the stove, and its inner end abuts against a stop or plate L, fixed to the frame D. The outer end of the screw K is squared or otherwise fitted to receive a crank or handle by which it may be turned, and it will be seen that when the screw is turned around the nut J will be advanced upon the screw either outwardly or inwardly as the screw may be turned. \Vhen the screw is turned so as to draw the nut outwardly, it will act through the rod I upon thelowerend of the lever B, and, drawing this lever with it, it will act upon the lever A through the fulcrum-pin a at their point of crossing. This will cause the lever A to move around its fulcrum E, and thus raise the outer end of the lever A, while the movement of the lower end of the lever 13 about the fulcrum-pin a will cause its upper end to rise simultaneously wit-h the upper end of the lever A.

The grate II has one longitudinal bar fitted to rest in the semicircularsupports M, which are attached to and project from the upper ends of the levers A and B, respectively. These supports may be slotted and secured to the levers by belts or screws 0, passing through the slots, so that by their adjustment the grate may be moved to one side or the other. By this construction the grate may be raised or depressed upon the levers Aand B, the levers sliding upon thelongitudiinal bar of the grate as they approach to or reoede from each other. The grate is also fitted to turn upon this longitudinal bar in the supporting-sockets, so as to discharge ashes or waste which may accumulate upon its surface from time to time.

Whenever this device is to be fitted to a stove which has not been built especially for it, a center bar of the frame D, Fig. 1, is fitted to extend across from side to side of the fire-place of the stove ben cath the point where the original grate was placed, this bar having at one end the longitudinally-adjustable extension d and at its opposite end the vertically-adjustable extensions cl, so that itmay be readily secured in place. The lower end of the lever A and the hanging link G will then be pivoted to this bar instead of the site frame of the grate, as previously described. The screw in this case will enter the side of the stove, as before, and abut against a similarly-arranged stop or plate L upon the bar D. By this construction it will be seen that the action of raising the grate by turning the screw K causes a direct pull upon the rod I and the lower end of the lever B, and by this method the power is applied in the most favorable manner for lifting the grate. The movable and operating parts of the device are set considerably below the fire, and by reason of the shield or cover which forms the extension of the stop L the screw and nut are entirely protected from the direct action of the heat and from any dirt which would have a tendency to foul them and'prevent their turning readily. The screw can be taken out at any time by simply turning it backward until it is released from the nut, and the grate will then be left at its lowest position and remain there until such time as the screw may he again introduced and turned so as to raise it.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new,-and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A mechanism for a vertically-adjustable stove-grate, consisting of a lever having the lowerend permanently fulcrumed, a second lever fulcrumed to the first at a point above the stationary pivot and having its lower end curved downwardly, and a hanging link connected therewith,in combination with ahorizontal rotary screw, a nut traveling upon said screw, and a bar connecting said nut with the lower end of the second lever and the link, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

2. The two levers crossing each other and pivoted together, having a device upon their upper and outer ends upon which the grate is supported, one of said levers having its lower end permanentlypivoted to the frame within the fire-place, and the other having its lower end curved downwardly, and a link suspended from the frame and fixed to the curved lower end of said link, in combination with a rod or bar connecting the movable lever ends with a nut, and a rotary screw upon which said nut travels, so as to actuate the levers and raise and depress the grate, substantially as herein described.

The vertically-adjustable grate, the levers by which the ends are supported, fulcrumed to a fixed support and to each other, the traveling nut connected by a rod with one of these levers, and the screw by which said nut is actuated, in combination with a projecting plate or chamber formed upon the fixed support and covering the nutandscrew, substantially as herein described.

4:. The levers pivoted together, one of said levers being fulcrumed to a fixed support and the other connected with a traveling nut and screw, in combination with the journals or supports fixed transversely upon the upper ends of the lovers, and the grate having a longitudinal bar fitted to turn and slide upon said support, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

HENRY Y. BODEMAN.

Witnesses:

S. H. NoURsE, II. 0. LEE. 

